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questions about mushies!

my doc cleared me for mushies and im having difficulties!   super finely mashed tuna salad is tough to get down, i have to eat it in pea sized bites. mashed potatoes go down alright for the most part. im scared to try pudding. pureed turkey got stuck. that was awful! after several minutes it went down but that was scary.   is this normal? am i doing something wrong? im scared to try scrambled eggs. and im supposed to be eating solids in less than a week!:thumbup:
harliquinn

harliquinn

4
 

bad day

im officially having a bad day. the scale told me i somehow gained a pound, i have a stress induced headache, i attempted to draw something on my digital tablet only to have the damn thing remind me how much i suck and am unworthy of owning hands. i hate everything.   i want to crawl back into bed. and in fact, i might just write today off as a loss and do that because im not sure i can deal with anything today.:confused:   im 29 years old. id love to know when these miserable teenage-style mood swings will END!
harliquinn

harliquinn

5
 

eating too much? not taking enough time? a question for you all!

my utensils from Portion Control Concepts (http://www.portioncontrolconcepts.vpweb.com/Products.html) arrived today. hubby bought them for me. :wub: i chose the sleek set. theyre beautiful, very well made and an absolute joy to use! shipping was also very cheap (less than $3) and quick (arrived in just 3 business days!). what more can you ask for? i highly recommend them. normally im not a fan of advertising for companies but im really impressed with these folks.   im eating slowly and eating smaller portions and for the most part, making smart choices but i think im still overeating. ive got 4ccs in a 10cc band and ive got a fair amount of restriction. i could probably do with an additional 1cc.   im eating roughly 3/4 of a cup to 1 cup of food per meal and stopping when i feel full but a few minutes after i stop, i feel even fuller. i dont like the sensation at all. im going to cut my meals down to a half cup or so and see how that goes.   my surgeon asked me how long im taking to eat each meal. i told him about 30 minutes and he told me i should be taking an hour. try as i might, i cant drag a meal out for that long. its difficult to make a meal last 30-40 minutes. an hour seems way too long! at that point, my pouch would be emptying, wouldnt it?   im curious to know how many ccs you guys have in your bands! also, about how much food do you eat? and how long are you taking to eat your meals?   i welcome any and all input!:scared2:
harliquinn

harliquinn

5
 

confession

ive done terrible the last few days. cheese steaks, cheeseburgers, Nutella, etc. no exercise. :thumbup:     tomorrow, im back on track. I NEED TO GET ON THE BALL.
harliquinn

harliquinn

4
 

what is your bands name?

ive heard some people say that they named their band. my band is my good friend and all good friends should have names, i think.   have any of you named your bands? if so, what did you name it and why?
harliquinn

harliquinn

3
 

rice is evil.

i had shrimp and rice for dinner. the shrimp went down fine., the rice did too. until the last bite, which promptly got stuck. :thumbup:   an hour of extreme discomfort later, im finally unstuck.   good lord. ill be avoiding rice forever i think.
harliquinn

harliquinn

4
 

scale victory and non-scale victory!

when i had my fill on tuesday i was 277. im down to 265! woohoo!   AND when i put on my jeans today, they were slipping off my hips! i actually need to buy a belt! this is an AWESOME problem to have!!!   :thumbup::smile::thumbup:
harliquinn

harliquinn

4
 

WHAT!? youve GOTTA be kidding....

i called my bariatric coordinator and told her that i cant eat solid protein. even now, i can only sometimes get down tuna salad and cottage cheese. thats the most solid protein i can eat. vegetables are a HUGE no-no. they wont go down. no matter how long they are steamed. and today, even pureed chili wasnt going down.   long story short, my band is too tight and i need a partial unfill. she passed the message to my surgeon and then called me back. they REFUSE to take anything out of my band. they refuse to see me until May 13th. they want me to go back on liquids for a week and then see how im doing.   *cries* this is SO frustrating! they also had the nerve to tell me that im making poor food choices. HOW am i supposed to eat solid protein if solid protein gets stuck every time i eat it!? the best i can do is tuna salad and cottage cheese! nothing else will go down! i could understand getting lectured if i was eating chocolate and gummy bears...but this? how ridiculous!   i called the patient advocate on base (military) and theyre going to try and get me a second opinion.   arent overly tight bands more prone to slippage? im scared.
harliquinn

harliquinn

4
 

im pretty sure my surgeon is nuts.

when i asked him how many calories a day im supposed to be eating (when i had a tight fill), he said 1200-1500. eating healthy food choices in the recommended amounts, im only getting in between 600-800 calories a day.   and he tells me that tuna salad, fat free cottage cheese and eggs are 'bad choices' and 'should be avoided'. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? theyre high in protein in low in fat and sugar which is what he told me to look for.   there is just NO pleasing the man! then again, he also tells me that theres no way my band could be tighter during 'that time of the month' and i KNOW thats complete BS.
harliquinn

harliquinn

8
 

what the HELL

jello is on my doctors list of suggested foods for this whole post-op liquid stage. and even eating pea sized bites and squishing it around in my mouth until its in several hundred tiny pieces....doesnt cut it. it gets stuck. it hurts. and then after several minutes, it goes down. you know what? JELLO AINT WORTH IT. this is absolutely ridiculous. and painful.   im really starting to think that the swelling will never go down. i feel like ill be stuck with a super tight band forever and ill only ever be able to have liquids for the rest of my life. my doctor wants me to start mushies in 4 days. YEAH I DONT THINK THATS GONNA WORK OUT REAL WELL.     sorry. i just need to rant. im upset. and right now, i hate my life and especially my surgeon.
harliquinn

harliquinn

3
 

my 2 best tools are....

my band (obviously) and my Pokewalker!   yes, im talking about Pokemon. HeartGold and SoulSilver (for my Nintendo DS Lite) came with a Pokewalker....which is a pedometer. you can transfer a pokemon from your game into the Pokewalker and then walk around with it. each step you take gets counted and earns you points, levels for your pokemon and enough points unlocks new areas in the Pokewalker.   never before has walking been so fun! it hardly seems like exercise when you able to level your pokemon at the same time! heheh yeah im kind of a geek!
harliquinn

harliquinn

1
 

5 days post-op

i think the swelling is starting to go down a bit since i can eat applesauce without a problem. it just feels weird. can the rest of you feel food sitting in your chest/your pouch? im still staying away from jello.   my incisions itch like crazy and the steri-strips still havent fallen off. im not allowed to pull them off so i guess i just have to play the waiting game.   i meet with my surgeon in 9 days to see how things are going. i was 291 pounds before the 2 week pre-op diet, 275 pounds on surgery day and today im 271 pounds. :rolleyes2:   my husband has been the most amazing, supportive and helpful person in the world. im so thankful for him.:thumbup:
harliquinn

harliquinn

6
 

Omg is this restriction?!

i had a fill on the 2nd. total of 4ccs in a 10 cc band.   i was just eating mashed potatoes, nice and slow. was about to take another bite when i realize that i could eat it...or i could leave it because i actually feel FULL.   i left it. :thumbup:   this is a first! im so happy!!!
harliquinn

harliquinn

3
 

so very thirsty!

dinner took 37 minutes to eat. it was 2 scrambled eggs. definitely feeling some restriction. i think ill hit my sweet spot at my next fill....which is next month.     it is REALLY hard not to drink while eating and waiting an hour for a drink is HELL!   so thirsty...
harliquinn

harliquinn

5
 

keeping track of fills.

previously i was way too tight and ended up in the ER for a complete unfill.   one month ago, we started my fills all over again and started slowly with .6 cc. yesterday i got an additional 1 cc. so right now i have a grand total of 1.6 ccs in a 10 cc band. and thats fine by me since i need to take things slowly.
harliquinn

harliquinn

3
 

2nd fill in the morning.

ive got a fill in the morning. i currently have .6 cc and i think im going to ask for a total of 1.5 cc.   to top things off, its shark week. thats always fun. i have problems swallowing pills so im taking liquid Tylenol for the cramps.
harliquinn

harliquinn

0
 

long overdue update (MUCH drama)

shortly after my last blog post, i ended up going in to have some of my fill removed. it helped for a short time. in june when my "girly time" arrived, my band ended up getting so tight that i was forced to go to the ER, was admitted and had my band fully emptied the following morning since i couldnt even swallow water.:thumbup:   my band has been completely empty since then.   i had a small fill yesterday (.6cc) and will be getting very small fills, about once a month, until i am in a good place with my band.   i wish my surgeon listened to me. he really doesnt and it has lead to a lot of frustration and trouble that could otherwise have easily been avoided.   anyway, after a fill, he insists on liquids for a week and then mushies for a week. kind of extreme, in my opinion but im sticking with it.   ive started keeping a food and exercise journal so i can keep track of my calories, eating habits and exercise. so far, so good!:tt2:
harliquinn

harliquinn

3
 

ALL water weight??

i had a .6cc fill on monday morning. i was 279 then. yesterday morning i was 273. and just now im 270.   ive been on a full liquid diet (with protein powder added in) since monday. am i just losing water weight despite all the liquids im ingesting or do you think some of this is actual progress?:tt2:   whatever it is, im happy to see the numbers going down!:thumbup:
harliquinn

harliquinn

2
 

first fill: DONE!

i just got back from my first official fill.   i had 2 ccs in my band, the surgeon wanted to put in 3 more. i told him id rather ease into it and just get 2 more rather than 3. he agreed that was fine.   fill was done with the fluoroscope. i felt a tiny pinch and some pressure. no pain at all. drank a cup of water and IMMEDIATELY felt the restriction! :w00t:   then i watched him pull the needle out. HOLY JEEZ! big freaking needle! it didnt hurt one bit tho!   im hoping this will help jump start my weight loss again.   im back on a week of liquids followed by a week of mushies before starting solids again.     and the journey continues!
harliquinn

harliquinn

1
 

first blog post

so yesterday i met with Dr. Bui and it went well. very nice guy. very detailed answers to my questions.   after looking over my health history and all my paperwork, he feels that i am very proactive about my goal and that i am an excellent surgical candidate. this makes me incredibly happy. he was also very pleased to see that Psyko (DH):wink2: was with me since support is a VERY big deal.   we discussed the Roux-en-Y and the lap band and he wanted to know why i was insistent on the Lap Band rather than the Roux-en-Y so i explained that i dont want my digestive system cut up, theres less serious complications (staples can leak, etc), shorter recovery time, its adjustable, and the weight loss is more gradual. he agrees these are good reasons. so yeah, it all went very well.   he gave me a list of things that he wants me to call around on base and schedule for. ideally i should have this list fully completed by October.   checklist for bariatric work-up:     Nutritional Medicine Consultation   Behavioural Health Consultation   LAB-fasting overnight (blood work)   Radiology *chest x-ray *pulmonary function tests   Pulmonary Medicine *sleep study   General Surgery Clinic *upper endoscopy         thats a lot of stuff to do! we are calling on monday to start scheduling things and im heading to the LAB on Tuesday for the blood work. Tuesday i also have an appointment to have a rash checked out.     oh...Dr. Bui also showed me a working model of the Lap Band. CAN I JUST TELL YOU HOW COOL THAT WAS?? awesome. so freaking cool.:cool2:   im still freaked out at the thought of an endoscopy. *shudders*:ohmy:
harliquinn

harliquinn

3
 

a bad day

tired. sleeping like shit. cant really get comfortable. easily annoyed by pretty much everything. animals making me crazy. stressed.   i feel like my life has been turned upside down by this whole thing. i didnt realize i was going to be so stressed out by it. i cant focus on anything lately. i can barely think, probably due to the lack of carbohydrates. ive been forgetting protein shakes. i missed one yesterday...and one today but ill play catch-up for todays shake. 5 days left. im nervous and having second thoughts but thats pretty normal before surgery or so im told.   i just feel like crap. also, i want food. *grumps* :redface:
harliquinn

harliquinn

4
 

this day is going all wrong...

this has been a rough day. the surgery clinic called, not to ask me if i wanted or needed a fill this month but to TELL me that i have a fill appointment this month that i need to attend. nevermind the fact that my last fill was less than 2 weeks ago and that im STILL not technically allowed back on solids yet! why my surgeon insists on being such a bully and insists on a week of liquids and a week of mushies after every fill, ill never know. :bored: but im tired of being bullied and pushed around by him! ive been eating right, counting calories, and exercising DAILY and he still gives me hell. :smile2:   and then our last pet rat (who was 3 years old) had to be euthanized tonight due to having a large mass on her belly and her quality of life was going downhill.:wink:   since i had so few calories all day (65 for breakfast and about 100 for lunch), i had half a cheese steak for dinner. and the stupid cheese steak place managed to completely muck up my order and it tasted awful.   i might take a walk later tonight, i dont really know. this has been a really upsetting day and i just want to crawl into bed.:eek:
harliquinn

harliquinn

3
 

is this normal???

im 4 and a half weeks post op. i havent lost any weight in at least 3 weeks. i can eat pretty much anything (tomato is problematic.)   is it normal to stop losing weight so early on? will a fill help this?   it seems like once i started mushies and then solids, the weight stopped coming off. :thumbup:
harliquinn

harliquinn

2
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